Oklahoma City Thunder AT Memphis Grizzlies
May 07, 2011 at 5 PM EST
Opening Line: MEM -3.5
Current Line: MEM -2.5
Opening Total: 201
Current Total: 200
Opening Moneyline: OKC -170, MEM +150
Current Moneyline: OKC -145, MEM +125
Series tied 1-1
The Thunder found a way to come back from a game one loss to take game two on their homecourt on Tuesday night. Once again, Durant and Westbrook had big games, combining for 50 points, but it was James Harden’s aggressive play and getting to the line that ended up making the difference for the Thunder. After scoring only 5 points in game 1, Harden had to figure out what was going to get him points, and the answer was going to the basket. Harden attempted 11 free throws, hitting all 11, nearly equaling his season average (12.2 ppg) in just free throws alone. Also off the Thunder bench, Eric Maynor delivered a strong game, scoring 15 points in 15 minutes. The Thunder’s bench outscored the Grizzlies bench 48 to 29.
For the Grizzlies, although Mike Conley continued his strong leadership and play, Zach Randolph had his worst game of the 2011 playoffs, connecting only 2 of 13 shots, though he did hit 11 of 12 from the line to salvage his scoring output, ending up with 15 points. Brooks commented on Randolph, saying “We just executed it much better in the second game. Zach is a terrific player. I’m sure he’s going to come back with a different mindset. We just have to stay consistent in what we do.”
Marc Gasol, too, struggled from the field, going 3 of 9, though like Randolph, he was good from the line, hitting 7 of 8. It appears as though Conley is going to see big minutes. He played 41 minutes on Tuesday, 6 minutes higher than his season average of 35.
Randolph is staying positive despite his struggles. “I think we got a rhythm. We came out today, ran through our plays, ran through their plays pretty good. Guys look like they have their legs up under them,” Randolph said. “Hopefully, we’ll be in rhythm. We’ll be able to make some shots.”
Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins isn’t panicking either. “They didn’t struggle the last game really. They shot the ball a little bit poorly,” Hollins said. “But they played their game. I don’t worry about that stuff. We need to increase our aggressiveness and our pace to attacking.” Hollins also knows what makes the Grizzlies thrive. “Getting turnovers and turning it back over to them doesn’t matter,” Hollins said. “We turn them over, we’ve got to get good shots, whether it’s a fast break or we execute in our half court.”
The Thunder were able to address the game one problem of the Grizzlies interior scoring and they held Memphis to just 34 points in the paint, far below the 52 they put up in the paint in the series opener. Nick Collison reiterated Harden’s comments after game one, saying that the Thunder will “pack the paint..We’ve just got to continue to do what we do.”
Some betting trends:
Oklahoma City is 10-3 SU in their last 13 games and the Thunder are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road. The Thunder are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 on the road and the Thunder are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games against the Memphis Grizzlies. Oklahoma City is 2-4 SU in their last 6 against the Grizzlies and the Thunder are 3-6 SU in their last 9 on the road against Memphis. The total has gone OVER in 6 of the Thunder’s last 9 games when on the road against the Grizzlies.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Memphis’ last 5 games, and the Grizzlies are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games. The Grizzlies are 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 games and the Grizzlies are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games at home. The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Memphis’ last 12 games at home and the total has gone OVER in all 5 of their last 5 games against the Thunder. The total has also gone OVER in 6 of the last 9 home games against the Thunder and the Grizzlies are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Grizzlies are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games at home against OKC.
It should be interesting to see how well the home crowd can rally the Grizzlies. Memphis was 30-11 at home in the regular season and they have a very loud arena. Westbrook won’t have a problem keeping his composure, but Conley is going to give Westbrook a good challenge on defense, as well. Sam Young and Tony Allen have done a good job on Durant for the size that they are. Durant is a solid 4 to 5 inches taller than both Young and Allen, but has yet to have a monster game in this series.
